Flexible colourful plastic containers – made in Britain. Available in 6 sizes and a wide variety of colours. Rainbow Trugs themselves and the Rainbow Trugs lid are made in Britain. Rainbow Trugs are food safe and UV stable. Inside there is a gallons and litres indicator. Some of the other stuff on their website is made abroad though. Look for the Union Flag next to the item’s picture I assume to see what is British made. British made items include Rainbow Trugs, pot stands, Rainbow Trug Riddle, Rainbow Trug lid, Easi Skip Feeders, 3 gallon buckets, Rhino feed buckets, Rainbow feeders and tidy trays.

British Made Tools – British Made DIY, Trade, Agricultural and Garden Tools and Equipment – British Made Engineering Tools and Equipment – Building Work – Scientific Equipment

British Made Tape Measures and Rulers

Fisco – http://www.fisco.co.uk – make tape measures in Essex in England. They make tape measures (the kind used by builders and in DIY), spirit levels, laser measures, long tape measures and surveyor’s tape measures, set squares, wooden rulers (bench rules, surveyor’s rods), steel rulers, and chalk line reels. I am not sure if everything they sell is made in England, so best to check before buying. Their products are available in Jewson, on the net, etc. Fisco are not British owned, rather they are part of the Hultafors Group AB which is in turn a business area wholly owned by Swedish Investment AB Latour. I have a Fisco Pro-Flex and it is a really good tape measure at a reasonable price. I also have a Fisco Un-Vision tape measure. I note their tape measures, whilst still made in England, are now marked Hultafors Fisco rather than just Fisco.

Rabone Chesterman (a company resulting from the 1963 merger of Rabone of Birmingham and Chesterman of Sheffield), maker of spirit levels and rules, of Whitmore St, Birmingham, were sold to Stanley in 1989. Rabone had previously acquired Dean Tape measures, the main British maker of non-metallic tape measures for the haberdashery trade, in 1986. In 1989, Stanley Tools purchased the assets of Rabone Chesterman from Bardsey PLC. Since then, the name and the name Dean have disappeared from their product lines.

The United Kingdom and in particular Sheffield, England is world famous for its steel products and contrary to popular belief many fine quality steel products are still manufactured in Sheffield. There is a wide choice of quality British made kitchen knives, cutlery, pocket knives, pen knives, folding knives, survival knives, bushcraft knives, safety knives and scissors available at reasonable prices, for example from:

A.Wright and Son Limited – http://www.penknives-and-scissors.co.uk– make scissors, cutlery, kitchen knives, pen andpocket knives, hunting knives, sheath knives, British Army knives, ettrick knives, boating knives, throwing knives, commando knives, bowie knives, bushcraft and survival knives. Started in 1947, Arthur Wrights is a traditional Sheffield Pen and Pocket knife manufacturer. Everything is done in-house in Sheffield. The quality of their products is excellent and they are good value for money. I have an Arthur Wright 70W 70mm Farmers Sheepfoot Pocket Knife and it really is a sturdy no-nonsense knife and a fabulously useful tool. My 70W Farmers Sheepfoot weighs 80 grams (2.8 oz), has an overall blade length of 70mm (2.75″), a straight cutting edge of 63mm (2.48″) and an overall length of 158mm (6.25″). The Farmers Sheepfoot Pocket Knife is iconic and very much a traditional country knife.

Southsea Deckchairs make deckchairs, parasols, sauna chairs, folding tables, windbreaks, folding stools, replacement deckchair fabric and so on. They also sell deckchair fabric by the metre, hire deckchairs and make branded deckchairs. They have been making deckchairs for the last 20 years in Portsmouth, England. Their range of resin furniture is imported. When I asked them about their UK manufacture in November 2012 they replied as follows: “Assembly work, finishing, sewing, fittings, QC, is all done in the UK. Some of the work is outsourced”. I’m pleased they are honest about their sourcing. Southsea deckchairs are used on the majority of beaches and promenades up and down the UK. They also export. As some work is outsourced and country of origin is not given on their website against individual products, please check where you deckchair or whatever you are interested in from them is made before buying.

ODD make their garden furniture, in England. All ODD’s Fabrics are available by the metre and are printed in England and woven in Scotland. They clothes and bags are made in England., as are their blankets, throws, cushions and pouffes. Their tribal rugs are foreign made – http://www.oddlimited.com

Marmax Products is a UK manufacturer of 100% UK recycled plastic, low maintenance outdoor furniture, planters, fencing and boardwalks. Prices on their website do not include VAT or delivery. They are not the only people who make re-cycled plastic furniture and the like in the UK, I just happened to come across this company first when searching the net. This looks like a really good idea because the products are very durable. It is marketed primarily at institutions,local government and businesses.